Storm Hans left Norwegian infrastructure authority Bane Nor dealing with a failed railway bridge. The bridge, which was built directly on to the river bed, sustained damage to the foundation of its middle pier in high water during the aftermath of Storm Hans.
The middle part of Randklev Bridge, a steel truss railway bridge that carries the Dovre Line between Oslo and Trondheim, collapsed into the Lågen river on Monday morning. It was built in 1957 in three equal spans, totalling 172.5m.
In a press release Bane Nor explained that while the bridge was not likely to drift down the river, they were keen to lift it from the water promptly to maintain the flow. They plan to put the bridge back in place. The work is complicated by continuing high water, heavy rain showers and saturated soil.
Bane Nor closed the Dovre Line in response to weather warnings two days before the damage occurred. ‘This means that the incident at Randklev never entailed a danger to life and health, which I am very pleased about,’ said track director at Bane Nor Eivind Bjurstrøm.
The bridge is inspected every six years, with the last one in 2019, and it had some maintenance work done in 2021.
A road bridge, converted from an older railway bridge, runs alongside Randklev Bridge. This is also closed for the time being.
